Caretakers Wanted
The silence stretched out for a long time. Kendra didn't know how to
respond.
Based on how silent the living room had turned as the wizard began to read, neither did many present here.
"I get it," Seth finally said. "This is a joke. Very funny."
Nobody cracked a smile.
"I think they're serious, Seth," Kendra said, her stomach queasy.
Seth looked around the room. "Us? The official caretakers?"
"Co-caretakers, along with Celebrant," Grandpa Sorenson explained.
Seth failed to resist an enormous smile. "No way. Really?"
"I'd be quite less excited about working alongside my father on anything…" Raxtus commented with a sigh, his long tail nervously moving slightly.
"I believe you but like, c'mon, I'd already be quite happy being caretaker of a regular preserve, but here's a lot of dragons… and hey, we'd be neighbors and we could let you into the Keep, you think Kendra would have an issue with it?" Seth suddenly added, looking at his sister who suddenly felt observed.
"Well I…" She quickly looked at Agad for help, can they actually allow Raxtus in, despite being a good friend?
"I am unsure about that being a good move." He warned "You could just end up making things worse for Raxtus, if his father or anyone following him learns about that they could try to pressure him into the role of a spy or to cause some disaster."
"Of course I wouldn't do either of these things but that makes sense, it wouldn't be nice," Raxtus looked away for a moment, how would his father react upon seeing the new caretakers he'd work with are kids?
"Really," Agad said.
"Take a picture," Seth said. "This is the best moment of my life."
"Are you crazy?" Kendra asked her brother. "Do you get how dangerous
this will be?"
"Do you get how in charge we will be?" Seth asked in reply.
"Seth, how much do you actually think the dragons would let you be in charge? Especially with one of their kind being the co-caretaker as well?" Stan asked seriously.
"I mean, of course I can't answer that because I've barely got to appreciate the dragons the first time we went to the sanctuary," Seth argued, and Kendra wanted to facepalm.
"I've been caretaker for long enough to tell you Seth, you wouldn't be that much in charge," Agad assured, to which Seth just shrugged.
"Of one of the most dangerous magical sanctuaries in the world," Kendra
said. "At a time when the dragons are attempting an uprising. Right after
witches warned you of dragon storms, and a demon warned me about a new
age of dragons."
"Life is full of problems," Seth said. "We'll be inside Blackwell Keep.
We'll be protected."
"Exactly how protected will they be?" Grandma Larsen asked.
"Blackwell Keep and their status as caretakers should grant all the
protection they require," Agad said.
"Until Seth goes adventuring in the mountains," Kendra said. "He'll hear
about some treasure and wander off."
"Exercising self-restraint would be critical," Agad said.
"He has none," Kendra said. "Zero. The sanctuary will fall in minutes."
"First, ouch, second… how could I even bring down a whole sanctuary in some minutes?" Seth questioned.
"Well in the magical world, one can perfectly cause mayhem in the time it takes to open a window," Kendra said with a glare at him.
Seth raised a finger in protest, but then lowered it after some seconds, he really has no actual counter against that, it is way too true.
"I get how huge this would be," Seth said. "I'd never do anything to
endanger the sanctuary."
"Like how you'd never do anything to endanger your cousin?" Kendra
asked.
Seth placed a hand over his heart. "I've made some mistakes and learned
my lesson. I promise I'll keep the rules. I'll only go where I'm allowed."
"Seth, I am rather sure no human changes like that after just two minutes, you don't even believe yourself," Doren teased him, Seth was tired of the constant remarks towards him by now and threw him a pillow.
"Oh so you decided to start a new war? Alright!" Newel exclaimed as he was grabbing a close pillow.
"Nobody is waging war against anyone else in this room." Ruth quickly stopped them, arms crossed, so Newel had to place the pillow back down in defeat.
"I don't believe this," Kendra murmured. "Will we have help?"
"Your Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson have offered to come as your
assistants," Agad said. "The Larsens would watch over Fablehaven.
Blackwell Keep has a skilled, experienced staff, and Marat would remain as
an additional assistant caretaker."
Seth dropped to his knees, his expression stunned. "A dragon as my
assistant? Yes. The answer is yes. With or without Kendra. Yes. Yes. Yes."
"You seem rather excited about having a dragon as an assistant," Raxtus commented, slightly worried about if Seth might get any ideas.
"Raxtus, I never would try to make you an assistant," Seth assured the small dragon.
"Not like you could ever make him one even if you actually wanted," Warren commented.
"Years of How to Train your Dragon, wasted," Newel lamented in a dramatic tone.
"Oh you stop it." Seth grumbled a bit.
"This works only if both of you come," Agad said.
"Isn't there somebody else?" Kendra asked.
"Nobody I can fully trust," Agad said. "Most of the great old wizards of
Dragonwatch have passed on or are actively engaged at other sanctuaries.
And wizards have never been plentiful. Remember that all wizards were
once dragons. If I send a wizard there whom Celebrant can turn, the
sanctuary falls and hundreds of dragons are released. True dragon tamers
have become so rare. Few can resist a full measure of dragon fear. You are
the only candidates left whom I know I can trust."
"So basically, we are the last choice you'll have," Kendra said with a sigh.
"I'd personally consider us more of a First choice material," Seth stated offended.
"So we're your last choice," Kendra rephrased.
"You're so young," Agad said sadly. "I wish I had another option. We
really are in a crisis. I would not be here otherwise. If you can't step in,
Marat will hold out as best he can."
"Please, Kendra," Seth said. "We have to do this. The world needs us."
"You just want to be in charge of Wyrmroost," she replied.
"The world needs me in charge of Wyrmroost," Seth declared.
"Well, Need is not the same as Want, even if the world will need it, I feel like it won't be too happy with it," Warren said in a philosophical tone.
"I'll make it want me," Seth assured.
"You're talking about the planet itself, I don't really think you can do much to convince it," Tanu said calmly.
"The world is doomed," Kendra muttered. She looked to Grandpa
Sorenson. "You want us to do this?"
"The choice is yours," he said. "I don't want to convey a false sense of
security. A preserve like Fablehaven is a perilous place. Being caretaker
comes with a host of dangers. Doing the job well can expose you to greater
threats. A dragon sanctuary like Wyrmroost is a hundred times more deadly.
The preserve is larger. The politics are more complicated. The occupants
are more powerful. And with the dragons in a state of unrest, it is not
someplace I would let you go if we had any other option."
"But . . ." Kendra prompted.
"But otherwise, the world will end completely dead, Kendra, so no pressure," Doren said attempting to imitate Stan's tone, as the actual Stan raised an eyebrow at him.
"Thank you Grandpa Dorenson." Kendra said sarcastically.
Grandpa Sorenson shrugged. "If the dragons get free, the world could be
destroyed. It could mark the end of life as we know it. If sending you and
Seth to Wyrmroost prevents the sanctuary from falling, it would be safer than
keeping you here. Safer for you. Safer for everyone. But the choice is yours."
"How much of a choice really is this? With everything you've said, we know they'll most likely accept this." Raxtus mentioned.
Agad nodded sadly "It is a choice under significant pressure, but it is still important they go by their own free will, nobody would force them." He replied, as Raxtus just sighed.
Kendra tried to will the knots in her stomach to loosen. It didn't work.
After the battle of Zzyzx, she had found great relief in believing the worst of
her troubles were over. She had relished the relatively quiet months at
Fablehaven since the demonic crisis had been averted. She had begun to
anticipate the path the rest of her life would take.
And here was a new detour. A big one. Maybe a fatal one. She would be
in way over her head. She would have to depend on her brother, who had
better intentions than ability when it came to coloring inside the lines. And if
they messed up, the whole world would pay the price.
"We would be the ones that first made you do that, having such young caretakers of a Sanctuary, you shouldn't just blame yourself like that," Ruth added, looking at Kendra.
"But we'd still be the ones to ultimately accept and possibly do the biggest screw-up in history," Kendra replied.
"The big reptilian revolution would be to blame if the world falls, not you." Vanessa was the one to speak now.
"You shouldn't try to pinpoint all blame in one or two individuals, situations like this one are a matter of several parties," Agad added, then proceeded.
But doing nothing might be a more certain path to destruction. Agad
needed her help. Her grandparents would not agree to this unless the
situation were dire. Kendra had risked her life at Zzyzx to save the world. If
she was needed again, and nobody else could do it, what else could she say?
"All right," Kendra said, already wishing she could take it back. "Can any
of our other friends come? Bracken, or anyone?"
"Good taste Kendra honestly, there's no better place for a date than one filled with tons of awesome dragons." Seth teased.
"If that's so true, bring your date there, if you find one," Kendra replied annoyed.
"I just might, someone that enjoys such experiences might be the one," Seth said in thought as Kendra rolled her eyes.
"I mean, it's not such a bad plan all things considered," Dale mentioned.
By the pain in Bracken's gaze, Kendra knew there was a problem.
"In time, yes," Agad said. "As we settle some of the issues elsewhere, we
can send some of your friends to aid you. Right now, they are engaged in a
variety of critical missions. Warren and Vanessa are working together in one
location. Tanu in another. Maddox and Trask in a third. I mustn't be too
specific."
"In case we get captured and they try to torture it out of us," Seth said.
"That's the way to think, well done Seth," Warren congratulated and Seth smiled proudly.
"Please don't fuel him," Kendra begged.
"Something like that," Agad admitted.
"And Bracken?" Kendra asked.
"I'm sorry, Kendra," Bracken said. "There is a situation where I'm
needed."
"An old enemy," Agad said. "Ronodin."
Bracken's eyes widened upon hearing that name "You cannot be serious…" He complained.
Agad had already read the next lines and looked worried.
"That sounds familiar," Kendra said.
"A dark unicorn who willfully corrupted his horns," Bracken said. "My
cousin."
"Your cousin?" Kendra exclaimed.
"Ronodin is helping the dragons at Soaring Cliffs," Agad said. "Nobody
on site has any idea how to handle him."
"Ronodin will be aiding the dragons? This is truly disastrous," Agad lamented.
"Of course he would do this, just some months after a war, and he decides to now actively engage and help with this new one," The unicorn grunted.
"I spoke with Mother about it," Bracken said. "She insists I go after him.
There may not be anyone else who can stop him."
Kendra had no words. What was she supposed to say? Forget the stupid
evil unicorn and come protect your . . . what? Your future girlfriend?
Assuming no dragons eat her.
"Oh c'mon…" Kendra complained as Seth immediately wheezed.
"Oh my, I love this, perhaps seeing all thoughts is truly worth it when we get moments like, this," He was laughing hard.
As usual for when this topic arose, Bracken looked awkward, but also this time rather sad and frustrated too.
"Bracken?" Kendra questioned worried.
He relaxed his expression a bit "I'm sorry, it's just that hearing this, you'll need my help… and despite how much I know I'd wish I could help you in this future, not being able to…"
"It's okay, you should ignore some of my thoughts, Ronodin is a big deal and, maybe now that you know he'll be into this, and if the books reveal more… you could catch him much earlier." She said.
That made him smile now "That's true, we could do so many things depending on the info we get, and if any mistakes are made or surprises happen, we'd know about them already." More calm, he signaled Agad to continue.
"A dark unicorn," Seth said reverently. "That sounds intense."
"It won't be pleasant," Bracken said. "But it's something I have to do. I'll
come to Wyrmroost as soon as I can. If you end up going there."
"Oh, I'm going," Kendra said stiffly, trying not to cry. She couldn't cry.
They would be the most embarrassing tears of her life. "I'll be all right."
"At least you'll get to see Raxtus again," Seth said, trying to cheer her up.
The thought was encouraging. The son of the Dragon King was the only
nice dragon she had ever met and a real friend. They had been through a lot
together. She hadn't seen Raxtus since he had visited Fablehaven shortly
after the battle of Zzyzx. "True."
Despite how the dragon did not like this idea, he still smiled slightly, hearing that seeing him would be encouraging… it was just rather comforting.
The hand he felt at his side and the slight glow afterward from that just comforted him more, as he feels eager to know how he'll be in months.
"Mother plans to link the new fairy realm to the fairy shrine at
Wyrmroost," Bracken said. "I'll make sure she does it immediately. That
way I can visit right after I finish at Soaring Cliffs."
Kendra nodded. "You'll be careful?"
Bracken flashed a confident smile. "I'll see you again in no time."
"I will work to send additional help and to find a replacement caretaker,"
Agad said.
"Once you see us in action, you won't want a replacement," Seth assured
him.
"Perhaps," Agad said. "It's not a sure thing you can have the job."
"Excuse me… What? You can't do that! Hyping us up about being caretakers, then tell us it's a "Maybe"? Seth exclaimed.
"If you'd let me read, you would see why that is." Agad just shook his head and proceeded, much to Seth's dismay.
"Wait, you make an offer, then take it back?" Seth complained.
"I lack full power to bestow the position," Agad said. "Even if Marat
steps down, Celebrant can veto the new caretaker. The Dragon King would
then have a year to nominate a replacement. Marat can veto any
replacements Celebrant suggests. If after a year no agreeable candidate is
found, Marat can assign anyone and Celebrant cannot block it."
Seth just seemed to deflate more and more.
"We could possibly wait a year?" He muttered.
"That wouldn't be all that bad, 365 days for you to read the manual and every single rule so the sanctuary could be 1% safer from you." Kendra said, feeling a slight relief, it might be another year?
"Does Celebrant know that having us as caretakers could make Blackwell
Keep more secure?" Kendra asked.
"He may suspect it," Agad said. "He may not. But he will not casually
reject placing two children as caretakers in place of Marat. Even though the
two of you have accomplished much in your young lives, he will see your
inexperience as an opportunity. And it will be. Talented or not, I would
never assign anyone as young as you two to oversee any preserve, let alone a
dragon sanctuary, except as a last resort."
"Okay, there's still a chance," Seth said hopeful.
"Seth, being the caretaker of Wyrmroost wouldn't be all that awesome," Stan said seriously.
"You don't know, you haven't specifically been Wyrmroost's caretaker," Seth argued.
"What kind of logic is that?" Stan questioned.
Kendra shook her head, her brother is insane, she knows it.
"We get it," Seth said. "We're your worst-case scenario. You'd rather
have some old guy take over. We'll still do it. What are the chances
Celebrant will veto us?"
"If for no other reason, I suspect Celebrant may approve you to save
face," Agad said. "Dragons are extraordinarily proud. And not without
reason—they are where the food chain stops, the ultimate alpha predator.
Celebrant wouldn't wish to seem afraid of anyone, let alone children. But
nothing is certain."
Raxtus huffed a bit, he knows already his father will very likely accept, perhaps would feel some slight humiliation of sharing the role with children, but at the same time, probably would love to showcase even more his superiority.
"If we become caretakers, could Celebrant keep us from leaving?" Kendra
asked.
"Not directly," Agad said. "But remember, he could refuse to instate a
new caretaker for up to a year. After you are appointed, if you leave without
finding an approved replacement, Celebrant would become the sole
caretaker and the sanctuary would fall. He would have authority to free all
the inhabitants of Wyrmroost."
"When do we start?" Seth asked.
"Are you both sure you want to do this?" Agad asked, his eyes on Kendra.
"I don't see any other choice," Kendra said.
"Weak," Seth said. "Come on, you killed the Demon King at the most
intense battle ever. We can do this."
"Beating someone in a battle is not at all the same thing as having to keep order as the caretaker of one of the most dangerous places in the world." Kendra reminded.
"Still weak, c'mon I am using all of my strength to now support you and say I believe in you," Seth replied.
"That's truly considerate of you to put in so much effort," Kendra replied back.
Kendra felt Bracken's eyes on her. She straightened. "You deserve a firm
answer. If taking charge of Wyrmroost will help keep the world safe, I'm
in."
"That's more like it!" Seth cheered.
"But is there a place we can keep him tied up?" Kendra asked, jerking a
thumb at her brother. "Some sort of spell to prevent him from sneaking out?"
"I'm afraid that, as co-caretakers, you will both have the authority to do as
you will," Agad said. "Hopefully you will remember the gravity of the
situation and heed the guidance from your grandparents and Marat.
"Can you put a little bit of trust on me? Can't you see how excited I am? Why would I want to cut short my time as a caretaker of a dragon sanctuary by making some big mistake?" Seth complained.
"That's the issue Seth, you are seeing this as simply having a great time, but you should tone down your eagerness, over time a caretaker gets to do more stuff, but upon starting I'd recommend just doing what you must do and learning the ropes of the place and about the creatures on it," Stan replied, trying to give a valuable tip, Seth thinks about it and then nodded at his grandpa.
"I won't let you guys down," Seth promised.
"That will have to suffice," Agad said.
"When do we start?" Seth asked again.
"I intend for you to depart immediately," Agad said. "Time is short. I have
already been away from Soaring Cliffs for too long. Bracken will
accompany you at first to interview the staff. Call it a surprise inspection.
Then Bracken will join me at Soaring Cliffs."
"Are we flying there?" Kendra asked, recalling her previous visit to
Wyrmroost. "Do you have a helicopter waiting somewhere?"
"No helicopters," Agad said. "But I have a barrel."
"... I know the two of us will be some "Last resort", but really? Are you going to put Kendra and I in a barrel and ship us to Wyrmroost?" Seth quickly interrupted.
"Might not be such a bad idea at least for you, we could mail you to the sanctuary while I go by faster means to make things stable before your arrival," Kendra said in thought.
Seth looked at the old wizard in panic as Agad laughs slightly.
"Wait a minute," Seth said. "I know we're your last choice, but come on!"
"A special barrel," Agad clarified. "And a surprise companion. This
way."
The wizard opened the doors and led them out of the study. Bracken
approached Kendra and placed a hand on her arm, holding her back. The
others exited.
Seth whistled at that "All alone, perhaps the new caretaker wants to take care of this unicorn," After how much teasing and comments he's received lately, it feels good to see the reactions of those two as Kendra quickly slapped his shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Bracken asked.
Kendra showed her best impersonation of a smile. "This is all so sudden.
I wish you could stay with us."
"Me too," Bracken said. "Ronodin is an old enemy capable of causing a
lot of harm. He hasn't surfaced in a long time. I have to go after him."
"I understand," Kendra said.
Bracken placed both hands on her upper arms. "None of us want this for
you. It isn't right. You're so young and you've already been through too
much. But your abilities as a dragon tamer are invaluable right now."
Bracken nodded sadly at himself, this is all so wrong and twisted… but it's possible Kendra now will never have to become caretaker, she can stay here on her home, safe, that must happen.
He was standing close. Soon he would be so far away. "I'll miss you," she
managed to say.
"I'll miss you too," he said, hugging her. "More than you could possibly
know."
He felt so good. He was so present. Would he really be gone soon? Would
she really be trying to hold off a dragon rebellion without him? "I'd rather
stay like this," she said.
Bracken stepped back, his eyes tender. Then he reached behind him for
something and held it out to her. It was his first horn. "I want you to take
this," he said.
"Well, that horn has already killed a dragon, hasn't it? Guess it's fitting for it to go back there." Warren commented.
"Because there are soo many toxic dragons…" Kendra replied, then quickly gave a look at Raxtus due to being unsure about if there actually are.
"Oh, Siletta was a very unique dragon, as usual for a guardian of a temple, nobody wants to just have an average dragon guarding all the treasures and artifacts," Raxtus just answered shaking his head.
"What if I lose it?"
"We'll find it. Very few enemies would be able to steal it. Do your best to
keep it safe. I had all but lost my connection to the horn when the centaurs
had it. I've reestablished that connection. Among other things, it will allow
us to communicate."
Kendra accepted the pearly horn. It gleamed in her hands. "Thank you."
"We better catch up with the others."
Agad read the next line, and had a slight smile on his face, the others look curious at him.
In the living room they found Seth had grabbed his satchel. He stood
investigating a man-sized wooden puppet with a smooth, featureless face.
The wood looked a bit darker and more polished than Kendra remembered,
but the joints of the simple human form were all still connected with brass
hooks.
They understood now, a big smile had sparked in Seth's head.
"Mendigo! You'll fix him! It's actually going to take months though?" He said happily.
"Seth, at least we'll get him back," Kendra said, feeling quite relieved, some good news in the future at least!
"I'll still need some time, I've started to have some talks with another wizard to start repairing, perhaps we can manage to get this done sooner, the fixing itself shouldn't take too long." He assured.
"You fixed him," Kendra said to Agad, breaking into a smile. The
automaton had once been a limberjack—a small wooden puppet that danced
on a paddleboard. But the witch Muriel Taggert had grown the limberjack
and animated him. Mendigo had been through many adventures with Kendra
and Seth, finally getting dissolved by dragon poison at Wyrmroost. But they
had salvaged his hooks and some splinters of wood, and Agad had
apparently remade him.
"A whole paragraph of this, I really don't understand the Sisters." Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't think anybody in the world truly does besides the Sisters themselves." Stan shrugged.
"Not too difficult," Agad said. "I just needed some time. I thought you
might appreciate an extra hand at Wyrmroost."
"What about Hugo?" Seth asked.
"Our golem is so vital to operations here," Grandpa Sorenson said. "Plus
he would have to shed a lot of size to squeeze through the barrel."
"This barrel shares space with a barrel at Wyrmroost," Agad said. "If you
go inside and crouch down, you will be in both places at once. If you climb
out on your own, you'll still be here. But if somebody on the other side helps
you out, you'll be there."
"Ooh okay, it's just one of these, alright," Seth said relieved.
"Did you actually think you'd be shipped to the Sanctuary?" Hank questioned.
"Who knows at this point." Seth just said.
"We had a bathtub like that," Seth said. "It connected to the Rio Branco
preserve."
"Still does," Grandpa Sorenson said.
"Time to say your good-byes," Agad suggested.
Grandpa Sorenson climbed into the barrel. For a moment he crouched
inside. Then he vanished.
Kendra hugged her Grandma and Grandpa Larsen.
"What will you tell Mom and Dad?" she asked.
"A version of the truth," Grandma Larsen said. "We'll explain it was an
emergency that only you two could help with. We'll downplay the danger
without lying."
"Yeaah, I feel like it'd be hard to explain this to any parents, especially if they've barely been in contact with this world for a rather short time," Dale mentioned.
"Our parents would have a heart attack if they were here and hearing this." Kendra shook her head.
Seth hugged Grandma and Grandpa Larsen as well.
"Tell Knox and Tess good-bye," Kendra said.
"We will," Grandpa Larsen said. "Take care. We'll pack some things for
you and send them along."
Grandma Sorenson climbed into the barrel.
"Do you want to go next?" Kendra asked Bracken.
"I come last," Bracken said. "Agad wants me to be a surprise. Be ready. If
I detect a spy among them, it could get violent."
Seth hopped into the barrel. A moment later Kendra found it empty. She
waved one last time to Grandma and Grandpa Larsen and then climbed
inside and crouched down.
A strong pair of hands slipped under her arms and lifted her out.
"The chapter ended here," Agad told everybody.
"So we'll start right at Wyrmroost next chapter," Stan said worried.
"This is cool, could I have a go at reading?" Dale requested, Agad nodded and passed the book to him.
"After this next chapter we'll have lunch, I feel like we'll need it to calm down and breath," Ruth announced, everybody agreed to that.
"So well, I'll read "A New Beginning", oh cool I think it shows the Keep now over the title," Dale said showing that to the others for a moment before starting.